2008 SXR 800 and going on 5th engine

S

Steve_SXR

Location
Ontario NY
Long story short I'm going to be on my 5th engine in my 2008 SXR 800. I've been having all sorts of problems, mostly since I put in a wet pipe and light weight fly wheel. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my situation and let me know what I might be doing wrong.

Engine #1 Stock Engine- Engine compartment flooded and all Electronics were ruined. Dealer put all new electronics in for me under warranty. I then later threw a rod through that block after diving it under water.

Engine #2 Used Engine out of a 2004 SXR 800. At the time I installed this engine I also put on a wet pipe, and blowsion light weight charging fly wheel. I didn't notice much difference in performance. It did sometimes hesitate under full acceleration until I let up on the throttle and eased back into it. It later had the piston break apart.

Engine #3. Rebuilt engine by PWC Engine. I got the engine back in, and ran it for a break in and it over heated the head and pistons. (I missed hooking up 1 cooling hose, still can't believe I missed that). Sent it back to PWC Engine and they sent me a new one (Engine #4) under their warranty.

Engine #4. Didn't run that good from the start. Tried aftermarket flame arrestors as it ran better with the hood off. Didn't make much of a difference. Did some further research and realized my carb jets never got changed when I put on the wet pipe. I changed my main jets to the the recommended settings as well as changed my needles and springs.

Current settings:
Main Jets 152.5
Pilot Jets 80
Needle 2.0
Spring 95 g

Front Carb
High Speed 3/4 turn out
Low Speed 7/8 turn out

Rear Carb
High Speed 1/2 turn out
Low Speed 7/8 turn out

Factory Wet Pipe Screws:
Top 1/4 turn out
Middle- Closed
Bottom 3/8 turn out

Last year I ran these settings for a couple tanks of 32:1 to help break in the engine. Everything ran good except the plugs fowled up at that ratio. I took my ski out for the first time all season today and put 50:1 in it. It ran for about 15-20 minutes then the rear piston broke apart and forced parts of it out through the bottom of the crank case cover.

I thought for sure this whole time I was just too lean since I didn't have the correct jets in it. I'm puzzled why it blew up again today. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. Attached is a picture of what the plugs looked like today after I got the ski back to shore. The left plug is from the rear (the cylinder that had issues)
 

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Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
not trying to be a dick, but it's the Internet so it's going to sound like I'm being a dick, but I'm just being blunt.

Take it to someone that know what they are doing. A reputable engine builder tuner that can do the job right, even if you have a drive a few hours. If you've gone through 2 engines with the wrong jets for the pipe, and have since gone through another, you are not equipped to do the job. Those engines are expensive and progressively becoming harder to find. Save yourself some time, money and headache and let someone else do your work.

Also, engine one, get a bilge, versiplugs/duck bills and let the engine compartment dry out between tricks. If water ingestion is an issue for you, keep the stock air box.
 
S

Steve_SXR

Location
Ontario NY
I'd take it somewhere if I knew of someone within a few hours but I don't. Also the ski has a versiplug on it along with water resistant flame arrestor covers.
 
Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Steve_SXR said:
I'd take it somewhere if I knew of someone within a few hours but I don't. Also the ski has a versiplug on it along with water resistant flame arrestor covers.
Click to expand...

Engine 1: Subs and fountains must be done in moderation. You must respect the rate at which water enters your engine compartment. This can be different from ski to ski depending upon the condition of your seal, the tightness of your hood, your specific technique, water left over from the last trick and so forth. You must also give your engine time to clear out. Dogging it after ingestion is asking for a hydro lock and a broken rod. Even if it runs reasonably okay, that doesn't mean the case is not completely dry. Kawis are notorious for holding water in the cases. Some people will tell you to just stomp on it until it clears out. Respect your engine, keep it dry, and don't abuse it if it is wet until it is dry again. Also, Simply swamping a ski one single time should not damage your electronics. They should be fully sealed. Even a 100% sunk ski should have a dry e-box if recovered quickly.

Engine 2: You put on a pipe but did not rejet it. My Superjet required 4 larger on my main, 2 larger on my pilot and 20psi lower on my popoff. This engine blew because you did not read the directions that came with the pipe. If you bought it used, the directions were available on FPPs web site. Unfortunately you learned the hard way that pipes allow more air flow, which means leaner, which means more heat. That feeling of hesitation you experienced was your motor trying to tell you it needed more fuel.

Engine 3: Attention to detail.

Engine 4: I don't have a specific answer for this question, but it is very possible it was turned poorly. Factory pipes recommended jetting is a recommendation. They recommended for my Superjet 135 mains and I'm running 140 mains. ADA suggested 35cc domes for 180 psi and I got 210psi on my motor so I now have 37cc domes and 170psi. Also, many people run their Kawis at 40:1.

Engine 5: Tuning a ski goes beyond obtaining the parts and operating the correct wrench. You need to carefully evaluate all of your factors. Is single cooling sufficient? Is dual or parallel cooling best for you? Is water ingestion a concern? Do you have a tach? Do you know how to use the tach? Is the jetting you have exact from a tuner with the same air temp, humidity, elevation and parts or just recommended baseline? Are all of your parts working correctly (I recently discovered my X2 was running hot because a FPP pipe screw hole was clogged)? So on and so forth. There is lots of information online about how to properly tune a ski. You need to spend some quality time with FPPs wet pipe directions, the mikuni tuning manual and other resources. They are readily available by search. Also make sure each component is working properly, such as flowing a water hose through your FPP to ensure the screw holes aren't blocked, and bench testing your carbs, making sure your fuel selector isn't airrating your fuel, you're not under propped, etc.

As in my previous post, it may sound like I'm being a dick, but I'm just being blunt. I myself have WOT lean seized an engine, hooks up cooling lines incorrectly and caused an over head, and seized crank bearings from too much RPM. I may not be as skilled and experienced than some others, but what I am is willing to do the best I can to help.

I think the best course, if available, is to reach out to local riders for help in tuning or finding a tuner.
 
Quinc

Quinc

Buy a Superjet
Location
California
What was said above. You need to take it to someone who knows what they are doing. You can't just throw parts at it and think that it is going work well.
 
OCD Solutions

OCD Solutions

Original, Clean and Dependable Solutions
Location
Rentz, GA
I went through the same thing with a Seadoo GSXL. I too would have taken it to a shop but unfortunately, the closest was 4 hrs away and even then, they admittedly didn't know enough either.

I knew I was hooked on the sport so I dug in and put the time in to learn what I needed to know. That's kind of my thing though. I enjoy wrenching and learning new skills more than actual riding.

If you just want to add fuel and ride then I suggest leaving things bone stock or better yet, switch to Yamaha. ;)
 
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bird

bird

Location
Wisconsin
You said you had Water resistant air filters, judging from the photo you do NOT.

You have the Stubby Pump cone installed, when I did that I lost cooling on the top side of my engine. It lowers the pressure in the pump(allowing it to rev faster), which also lowers the pressure in the cooling system at slower speeds.

You are very lucky to have any of those engines replaced under warranty.
 
S

Steve_SXR

Location
Ontario NY
Should I leave the rubber tubes in the stock box or take them out? Will the stock flame arrestor allow enough air in with the wet pipe? I also switched to Boyesen Power Reeds on my last rebuilt engine.
 
Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Bad boys racing set my sxr up with parallel cooling insteadof dual cooling (which he put on my superjet) but didnt not elaborate as to why. Hes pretty proud of his cooling so he certainly has a reason.

Dual cooling on a sxr fpp is the same as a superjet.
 
anthonys

anthonys

Location
destin FL
What l think is you milled the head leaning it further, those two plugs look way different it looks way lean and you indicated that one carb was adjusted in further than the other
. You need to rejett to factory pipes specs,
 
anthonys

anthonys

Location
destin FL
Its probably the stubby cone 2, your not even on the lean charts on the one plug,l would jet to factory pipes specs and start even richer on the screw adjustments with a milled head
 

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